


Remember, My Lady

by burningbaconwrites



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-06-09 21:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6924883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burningbaconwrites/pseuds/burningbaconwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when Ladybug forgets who she is?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chloe Bourgeois was your typical snobby rich girl. She had perfect hair, perfect dress, and she always got what she wanted. Well, she nearly always got what she wanted. There was always one girl who stood in her way. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Just thinking the name brought a scowl to Chloe's face. She couldn't stand the girl. Always so smiley and clumsy. It made her want to barf. 

At that particular moment, Chloe was making her way outside, seeing as the school day had just ended. With Sabrina on her tail, she searched for the one she called her boyfriend. It didn't matter if the model himself didn't agree with the title, because in the end, it was inevitable.

After turning a corner, Chloe spotted the boy and nearly ran straight to him. But something stopped her. Marinette. Adrien was talking to the girl with a goofy smile on his face. It was absolutely adorable, and not being the one to receive that smile made her furious.

“Adrikins!!” She cooed. “I need to talk to you!” The boy gave Marinette an apologetic smile as he headed Chloe's way. It took all of her willpower to keep a calm demeanor for Adrien’s sake. Though, in Sabrina’s opinion, that probably wouldn't last long. Chloe briskly waved Sabrina away though so she could focus all of her attention on Adrien.

“Hey Adrikins, are you going to the city hall meeting with Gabriel? My father's making me go, and it would be just awful if I had to sit through that boring meeting all on my own.” Chloe made sure to blink quickly in what she thought was a cute manner while she waited for her answer of what would of course be yes.

“Oh, I totally forgot about that Chloe. I'm, uhh, really sorry, but I don't know if I'll be able to make it out there.” 

“Oh. I understand. You forgot. It's not like you've forgotten anything else before. But now that I think about it, you have. Remember last month when you ‘forgot’ about that play I invited you to? Of course not, but what about last week, when you ‘forgot’ about my birthday party? And what about that ball a few days ago that you supposedly ‘forgot’ to attend? Yeah, yeah that's completely natural, it could happen to anyone.”

“Chloe I-”

“Bup-bup-bup. Oh Adrien, I don't think you've really been forgetting anything. Honestly, someone of your stature can't afford to. My guess is that you've been avoiding me. Ha, you have, haven't you. I've seen you hanging out with those losers, those nobodies. Adrien you can't be seen with people like them. It's bad for your image for goodness sake. That Marinette for example, she's nothing more than the baker's daughter, she's-”

“Chloe please stop.”

“But you can't deny it Adrien, it's all true. They won't mean anything once you're as famous as your father. I mean, Nino and Alya might make it somewhere decent, but Marinette, psshh, she's got no chance.”

“Chloe, I really want you to stop. If you keep bashing my friends like this I'm just gonna have to leave.”

“Okay, okay, you just need to understand that being friends with Marinette will get you nowhere-”

“Chloe stop!! I can't have you saying that about Marinette! She's done more for me than you ever could, and just by being my friend! Now stop saying that stuff about her, please.”

Chloe blinked. She hadn't been expecting that answer. It was true the girl had suspected for some time that Adrien’s ‘I forgot’ excuses were just a cover up for hanging out with Marinette, but she hadn't really believed it. But this moment confirmed it. And Chloe couldn’t stand it. If Adrien was just going to forget all about her, then how’d he feel about his precious Marinette forgetting every little detail about him. Heck, what if she just forgot everything in one go. The thought brought a grin to her face that was starting to scare the young model. And it should. If Chloe couldn't have Adrien, then no one would.

The moment that Chloe felt the touch of a black butterfly on her hand, she embraced it. She let the pure evil take its place in a pitch black ring placed upon her ring finger, and she felt fantastically evil. The look on Adrien’s face was shocked to say the least, and Chloe loved it. She would make him fear her, while everyone around him forgot everything about him. She smirked at the boy and gave him one final message before running off.

“Seems like you’ve been forgetting me a lot lately. Ever wonder what it would be like to be forgotten Adrien? Well, let me show you.”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Marinette’s walk home was usually taken in solitude. But today, Alya had joined so the two could work on math homework together. However, math was the last thing on the two girls minds.

“Oh my gosh Mari, did you see how Adrien looked at you today!”

“He talked to me Alya. He talked to me.”

“Yes, but did you see his face?!”

“W-what, no. Alya I was about to faint, we were so close.”

“You were three feet away from him.”

“Exactly!” Alya sighed and gave her friend a knowing smile. It was nice to see the designer so happy, and even nicer that Adrien was the cause of it.

“Sooo, what’d he want to talk to you about girl?” Marinette’s mind went blank.

“Uhh, I-i don’t know. I forgot…Heh heh...”

“You forgot?! Oh, what a shame!” Marinette whipped around at the sound of her rival’s voice, yet she was stunned to see not Chloe, but an akuma standing before her. However, at closer inspection, Mari could see that it was indeed Chloe, though she looked vastly different. The fashionista’s ponytail, which was usually tucked neatly into place, now showed signs of coming undone and hung wildly in the air by some unknown force. Though the hair itself took on an even more garish shade of the golden yellow than it usually was. Her arms were bare, except for a glove on each hand that looked to be made of diamonds, and the fingertips were sharpened to take the form of claws. She also wore a pale yellow tank top/capri-shorts combo with a golden band on her waist. Her boots also looked to be made of diamonds, and matched the gloves she wore. They reached up to her knees, and the heels looked to be twice as sharp as the gloves she wore. But the most terrifying part of the akuma, was the mischievous grin plastering her face, with a look more evil than Hawk Moth’s.

“Chloe, I think you need to calm down. You’re better than this (sometimes). Chloe don’t liste-”

“AAAHhahahhahhaa!! I’m not Chloe you fool! Chloe’s gone, but go ahead, reach out to her. Just waste your precious time. Forget-Me-Not is all whose left!”

By now, Marinette wasn’t paying attention to the akumized girl. Her top priority was getting Alya to safety so she would be free to transform. She needed to stop Chloe before things got worse than they already were. The three of them were only a couple blocks from Marinette’s house, so if she could get Alya there safely, then Marinette would certainly be able to transform somewhere discreet. But Marinette would never have had time to act on her plan. In fact, she wouldn't even remember it. 

Just as the girl was about to push Alya in the direction of the bakery, she felt a sharp pain hit both her ring fingers at once. She clutched her hands to her chest and sank to the ground with a concerned Alya by her side in seconds. The two were so focused on themselves, that they never saw the smirk pass over Forget-Me-Not’s face as she left the area.

“Marinette, are you okay?!”

“W-who’s Marinette?”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

‘Nino. Need help, start walking to Mari’s house. Hurry.’

“What's that, what are you doing?” Marinette’s blank, curious eyes looked up at Alya from behind her phone.

“I'm texting Nino, our friend. You need help Mari.”

“Why do I need help? Is something wrong with me?” Alya sighed and let her face fall into her hands. These questions were getting tiresome.

“Yes, but we're gonna fix it. You're going to be fine. Ladybug will help us.”

“Ladybug?” 

“ARaaahghrgh. Yes. Ladybug. She’s a superhero and totally boss. Now no more questions, you’ll remember everything after Ladybug deals with Chloe, er, Forget-Me-Not.” When Marinette stayed silent, Alya let herself relax. Though she seemed annoyed at the repeated questioning, in reality, she was terrified. Her best friend had lost all recollection of who she was. The girl didn’t know about Ladybug and Cat Noir, she didn’t know how to design clothes, she didn’t remember her best friend, and she had no idea who Adrien was. The latter was probably the most shocking of them all. Marinette without her Adrien obsessed phase just wasn’t Marinette.

One other thing that had been bugging Alya, was the ring of color at the base of Mari’s ring finger. From a distance, it looked like a simple black line, circling the finger and somehow trapping it. But at closer inspection, Alya had seen tiny, delicate swirls and loops that made up the band. What was most curious though, was that the designs were moving. The ring looked like a dark, magical aura, plastered to the girl’s skin while slowly sliding along it. She figured it was some mark left by the akuma to signify the mind wipe. But seeing as she couldn’t do anything about it, she let the thought slide and focused more on Marinette.

Alya just didn’t know how to cope with the responsibility of a mindless doll inhabiting her friend’s body. She had kept up a somewhat alright attitude for now, but once Nino arrived, she was afraid she would break down. Her only hope was for Ladybug to fix everything. But what she didn’t know, was that Ladybug didn’t know who she was. The heroine didn’t remember.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Nino arrived only five minutes after receiving the text. He was panting and sweating, but Alya was grateful nonetheless. As he surveyed the scene, he could see nothing wrong. Alya and Marinette did happen to be sitting on the ground, but they appeared unscathed, so Nino was confused as to why he was there.

“Yo Alya, what’s wrong? What’d you need help with?” Alya cringed and looked away from Nino. She was still stunned from their encounter with Chloe, and looking at Nino only made her want to break down even more. She started to debate whether bringing him here was a good idea in the first place.

“It’s kinda...complicated. Let’s just say you won’t want to forget it…” Nino could tell that something was up. Alya was avoiding eye contact, which only happened when she was upset. And Marinette was staring off blankly at nothingness. Though that could be seen as normal Marinette behavior, Nino could see a sort of distance in her sea blue eyes that was unmistakably wrong.

Nino knew he had to do something. He wanted to be there for Alya like a real friend, to help the two out somehow. So, he promptly sat down across from his complicated friends and placed what he hoped was a comforting hand on Alya knee.

“You can tell me Alya, I just want to help.” Alya turned to Nino with tears forming in her eyes. She stared at her friend with a wide range of emotions and thoughts running through her mind. She nearly gave in to those feeling once Marinette spoke.

“I don’t know what this is about, but you should tell him. He seems really nice. Umm, is he your friend?” Nino’s eyes went wide. He was even more confused than when he first arrived. All he knew was that Mari didn’t know who he was.

“Alya, please. Why doesn’t Mari know me?”

That was when Alya gave in. She explained everything she could to her curious friend. She told him how Mari had spoken to Adrien earlier and what had happened when the akumized Chloe arrived. She greatly elaborated how after being hit by Chloe’s power, Marinette had forgotten absolutely everything. It didn’t take long for Nino to understand their situation, so 10 minutes later the three were sitting in silence, contemplating what to do next. 

“So Alya, what do we do now?”

“I don’t know… I guess we just wait. Wait for Ladybug to fix this.” So that’s what they did. They waited. Sitting on the sidewalk for nearly an hour before they grew inpatient. Nino and Alya had answered some of Marinette’s random questions, but they mostly waited in silence, thinking the next minute would be the one to fix everything. But nothing happened. Nothing came. Alya could watch footage of Forget-Me-Not’s other disastrous deeds through her phone, but Ladybug never showed up. Cat Noir had appeared almost immediately, looking a bit disheveled, but still fighting nonetheless. His battle was well fought, but without Ladybug he didn’t have a chance. It was miserable to watch. Alya wanted, no needed Ladybug to fix this. She needed her friend back.

“ARRGH! Where is Ladybug?!?!”

Alya turned to Marinette, hoping to receive answers. To somehow get help from her forgetful friend. But then she noticed a flash of red. And then that red took shape. The shape of a small, fairy-like figure, covered in large, black dots. It opened a pair of wide, yet sad eyes, looking at Alya with concern written on the creature’s face. And then it spoke, in the most quiet, sweet voice Alya had ever heard.

“L-ladybug, Ladybug is right here…”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Ladybug forgets who she is?

Alya grabbed Nino for support as she stared wide eyed at the creature floating before her. It looked like some giant red bug. And it was talking. There was a giant, talking bug in front of her, telling them that Ladybug was right there. Okay she must be dreaming. She was so dreaming. Bugs didn’t talk, and Ladybug was nowhere to be seen. Wait. Maybe she was just going crazy. That was definitely a possibility...

“NINO HELP AM I DREAMING?” Nino shrunk back as the blogger screamed into his ear while still trying to keep his eye on the ‘bug’.

Alya was staring wide-eyed at Nino, and she expected him to reply. To say something, anything to calm her nerves. She was cracking, she knew this would happen. Why did Chloe have to go and erase Mari’s memories. That was just, just cruel. A-and mean, and…

“No, no, no, you’re not dreaming!” Alya turned to see the bug holding out its, well they looked like hands but she wasn’t quite sure, and shaking its head sadly.

The blogger meant to speak, and even opened her mouth to do so, but no words came out. She was clutching Nino’s arms and he gently held them in return. He knew this was getting pretty hard for her. And better yet, he knew when to calm down and take charge.

“Uhh, then what even are you? You said that Ladybug is right here. Whadda you mean?”

The bug’s ‘antenna’...or, whatever they were, drooped slightly and its large eyes fell in a sense of defeat. Or at least that’s what it looked like, neither Alya nor Nino knew if giant red bugs could feel human emotions. “Ladybu-Ladybug is your friend…” The bug floated over to the confused child, landing woefully in the girl’s open palms. “M-marinette is Ladybug.”

Alya reeled back at this sudden burst of information. This bug had just told her that Marinette was Ladybug. But that was absolutely impossible. She knew, oh yeah she knew Mari like the back of her hand. Nothing got past her. Marinette would never have been able to hide if from her, she was a reporter for goodness sake. Her sole purpose since Ladybug appeared had been to discover her identity. There was NO WAY she had been sitting at her side this whole time. NO WAY Ladybug was in her class, sneaking out when and akuma appeared and coming back right as the battle ended. She couldn’t possibly just appear at situations the moment they occurred, she would need to already be there--But Marinette had ALWAYS been by her side! She had been there. Always. Except when Ladybug was there. When Ladybug came, Mari was gone… She just vanished… A pigtailed designer replaced by a similarly pigtailed superheroine--“OHMYGOSHWHAT?!”

She couldn’t stop staring at Mari. It was SO obvious. Her hair, just look at it! Who else wore pigtails everyday, who else had black hair like that. Who else always had a lame excuse for everything. It was her. It really was. All this time, Alya’s best friend had been Ladybug and she hadn’t even known. Woah… Just woah...

Marinette, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded. She smiled uncomfortably, not knowing what to do, what to say, or what the strange red thing in her hand was. Earlier this girl had been calling her Marinette, so she assumed that was her name. But now they were calling her Ladybug? She didn’t have two names did she? That would be weird… Right? Was having two names normal. And what were all their names again? The people that were talking about her… The girl was like Ala or something. And the boy was like Nono, or Nini? She couldn’t really remember. It was a lot of information to take in at once. And the red thing, well, she had no idea what that was. It was alive, but what was it? Umm, didn’t things called animals exist? Maybe it was an animal, umm whatever that was. 

And now for Nino. Nino was, well, he was confused to say the least. He was doing his best to comfort Alya seeing as she was nearly in hysterics, and Marinette was off in la la land. The bug thing just sat there forlornly. It made him sad just looking at it. Maybe there was something he could do.

“Hey, umm, I don't know your name. Are you okay?”

The bug like creature looked up and Nino could see her eyes brighten a little at the acknowledgment. “My name’s Tikki, and oh, I never answered your question from earlier did I?”

The DJ shook his head in response but kept all his attention on ‘Tikki’.

“Okay, you might as well know.” The creature paused for a moment and sighed quietly. “I'm what's called a kwami. Basically, I have magical abilities that allow me to transform Marinette into Ladybug by flying into her earrings. I'm only telling you this because I have to. And I think you know why... If there was any other way, well, you probably wouldn't be talking to me right now."

The DJ nodded in what he assumed was understanding and looked to the 'kwami' with more importance than before. Most people knew that there was something that allowed Ladybug and Cat Noir to gain their powers, but not many knew what. Hawk Moth had to be after something after all. It was still weird, but in a weird way, it made sense.

"Well, is there anything you can do now that you've told us? Anything we can do to help?"

Tikki looked down in contemplation. Then her head shot up and her face brightened with a new idea.

"Alya!" 

The girl turned at the kwami's call, yet still seemed to be somewhat distant at the same time.

Tikki hovered a few inches away from the blogger's face and began explaining her plan. "Alya, you don't know this, but when Marinette first became Ladybug, she almost turned the responsibility over to you. She thought you would have what it takes to be a superhero. So why couldn't you do that now? Just for now, of course. Because right now, we need to focus on getting Marinette's memory back. And the only way to do that, is for someone to become Ladybug, cleanse the akuma, and restore everyone's memories."

The kwami waited in eager anticipation, but the answer she received was far from any she had expected. "I can't be Ladybug. She's been my idol for ages. Even though she's m-my best friend, Ladybug's someone I look up to, not someone I could emulate. She just has so much responsibility on her shoulders, I don't think I could handle it. At least, not while knowing that Marinette's completely helpless, with no memory whatsoever. I mean, what if I messed up? What if, I slipped, and messed everything up? Then Marinette would never remember, she would always be this thoughtless doll. I wouldn't be able to live with myself! I just--I can't do it."

"But, we need you to. You're our only hop--"

"I'll do it."

The kwami turned, amazement blooming in her eyes. "You'll do it? Nino, are you sure?"

"Yes, absolutely sure. Alya is clearly too distraught at the moment to do this on her own. And Marinette is too... lifeless, for lack of a better word, right now. I'm the only one who can. If you'll show me what to do, I'll do it. I have to."

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cat Noir groaned as he was knocked down for what felt like the hundredth time that day. It felt like it had been hours since he'd first transformed, and to be completely honest, it probably had been. The boy was just so sore. He'd been thrown around, punched, kicked, and chucked into the river more times than he could count. The hero just couldn't keep it up for much longer. Not without his partner.

If he could, Cat would have tried to get ahold of the akuma and purify it on his own, but unfortunately, only Ladybug was capable of that. Until she showed up, there was nothing he could do. He could always try to find and get the item from Forget-Me-Not, but what then? He had definitely seen the affects of an unpurified akuma roaming freely through Paris, and he wasn't too eager to see it again.

Every minute, no, every second, Cat had been telling himself that Ladybug would show. That once she arrived, everything would be okay.

But still, she was nowhere to be found. Not too long after starting the fight, he had began to wonder if his lady was okay. Surely she would come to his aid if she could, right? If she could. If. That short little word brought dread to the hero's heart. What if she was hurt? What if she was dead? Or what if she had another, more important battle to fight, and he wasn't there to help her?! Gah! All he really wanted to know was that she was okay. He hoped she was...because he needed her. 

As the hero raised his head from the cold cement he was now lying on, he saw Forget-Me-Not about to hit him with another blow. He growled in frustration and managed to roll to the side just in time. 

He was still confused as to why she was hitting him with solely physical attacks. He was there when she had transformed, and he assumed she would use powers dealing with the mind. And though he had seen her doing so to other civilians and friends of his, she still had yet to hit him with a mind wipe. 

Since he had the time, Adrien had been thinking it over in his head for a while now, and he had come up with two possible reasons for him still having his memory. One, the akuma inside Chloe subconsciously knew he was Adrien and refused to harm him, or two, the akuma wouldn't risk emptying his mind till Ladybug showed up. Or maybe, they needed information. What if that had been her plan all along? Spend so much time tiring him out so they could capture him and get information about the miraculous, or quite possibly their secret identities. Maybe both. Either way, if that was her plan, well, it was working.

On his feet once more, Cat dodged another volley of misty black orbs coming his way, and looked around again for any sign of his lady. But sadly, his short search was in vain. She wasn't coming was she? Something was keeping her, it had to be. But how could he help her? He head no idea where she was or what was going on. What if--no, wait a sec. Was that his baton beeping?

In rushed agitation, Cat skidded behind an empty bus and opened his stick in its phone mode. A little message in the corner simply read ‘omw’ signed as Ladybug. Oh thank goodness. She was on her way. He had no idea why she was using text when they almost always just called each other, but still, she was okay. If she was coming, surely she was alright. Cat sighed, she was coming. Everything would be okay now. She would make it all okay.

With renewed energy, Cat sprang into the air with an angered look passing over the akuma’s face. In return, he grinned and shot his stick toward the villain while he was still in the air.

Forget-Me-Not was raging by now, so she grabbed the extended baton with her diamond clad hands and swung it to the ground with such force, that Cat was very unsure how he had managed to let go.

But let go he did, and he now floated just a few feet above the ground, ready to make a run for his baton and begin fighting back once he hit the hard earth. But regrettably, he never got the chance.

Mere milliseconds before he could hit the ground, Adrien was thrown across the street and slammed into the wall of a tall brick building with a sickening thud. He then flopped to the ground and groaned as the now grinning villain began prowling his way. The blow hadn't hurt him really, but it had surely knocked the air out of him for the time being. He needed a minute to get his breath back, but Forget-Me-Not was clearly uninterested in this. 

Cat did all he could to shield himself as Chloe raised her arm in preparation for an attack, but as he did so, he caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye.

WHAM!

Forget-Me-Not went reeling backwards at the sudden blow to the head. The polka dotted yoyo swung through the air, returning somewhat gracefully to its owner who was currently blocked out by the bright sunlight.

Cat blinked in the light and looked on at who he thought was his lover.

“My lady…”

All he could bear was a whisper, but as ‘his lady’ turned, he realized it wasn't a lady at all. This ladybug was a man. Well, more like a boy, but still.

“Dude, did I hit her? Can’t see too well in this sun, yo.”

The personage whom ‘he’ had hit growled frighteningly and looked to the newcomer with indignation in her eyes.

“Oh, you hit her. And you're really gonna regret it!!”

Cat moved. That little distraction had been what he needed to get back on his feet again, Whoever this guy was, he certainly didn’t know what he was doing, He needed help now, and fast.

Forget-Me-Not prepared another volley of attacks while ‘Ladybug’ stood in confusion, struggling with his yoyo and attempting to get out of the way. Just as the akuma threw her next attack, Cat leapt straight towards his ‘partner’ and knocked him out of the way, just in time.

The bedraggled boy shook his head and turned to face Cat Noir for a second. “Thanks bro--”

“Who are you?! Where’s Ladybug?”

Cat didn't know what he was expecting, but he knew this guy wasn’t Ladybug. And if he had the outfit, he must know where she was. Wait was she okay? If this guy had done anything to her--!! Okay Cat, calm down. Ladybug would have only given up the miraculous if it was her only choice, and only to someone she trusted. Well, either that or she wasn’t given a choice! How did he know this guy was legit? Had he stolen her miraculous or been given them? And where in the world was his Ladybug??

"Yo, no need to freak out, I'm subbing in for LB today. She kinda can't fight right now. Gotta defeat this akuma or whatever if you want her fighting again."

"Wait I gotta ask, did she give you her miraculous willingly--"

"Watch out!" Just as Cat looked up, he saw another barrage of black energy heading his way. ‘Ladybug’ had somewhat pushed them out of the way, but Cat got the two just far enough to prevent being hit. Man, of all the days for his bad luck to act up…

The new Ladybug began talking as he stood up and began moving around. Cat followed suit.

“Not exactly willingly… Tbh, she can’t really remember who she is, the bug uhh, kwami thing gave me the miraculous though. It’s all good.”

Wait a sec. If this guy knew about the kwami, then he must have seen Ladybug when she was detransformed! It would be a lie to say that Cat wasn't at least a bit jealous…. But on the other hand, Ladybug didn’t know who she was. Not that he knew who she was either. Man, Chloe must have gotten her somehow. And not only that, but she had probably gotten Marinette too! That was what had caused her to get akumized in the first place! Crap! Ladybug had lost her memory, and if Marinette hadn't already, she probably would soon!

But at the moment, Forget-Me-Not seemed to be getting sick of their battle. She now wore a nasty expression on her face and was charging up her next volley of attacks. And that was when Cat saw it. The ring. It was pitch black, and really, it was the only thing that stood out from her outfit (well, besides the diamond claws perhaps). Now he just needed a distraction. And after looking at the new polka dotted superhero, he'd found one. 

While snapping his baton to his back, the cat ran to stand behind his temporary partner. He held the boy's shoulders and stood hunched behind him as if he were a shield.

"Bro, what are you doing?" 

Adrien merely grinned as he prepared for his next 'attack'. Forget-Me-Not looked somewhat bewildered, but she was already preparing to strike once again. So then he charged. Or rather, ‘Ladybug’ charged. With all the force he could muster, Cat Noir shoved the new hero straight towards their enemy. ‘Ladybug’ certainly hadn't been expecting that, but neither had Forget-Me-Not. The two crashed into each other as Cat took a step back to admire his handiwork. As soon as they were on the ground though, he sprang forward and grabbed the first hand he could find. Red. Not hers. He grabbed another. This one was diamond, but wore no ring. Not good. Just as he spotted the ring, he reached out to grab it, but this time she was ready for him. Using her pointed boots as a weapon, Forget-Me-Not shoved her feet out and Cat along with them. The shoes dug into his chest, and it hurt of course, but they didn't quite puncture his suit. He would probably have a nasty bruise later though. Dang. 

Cat held his chest in pain and looked back at the two. Forget-Me-Not was getting to her feet, and ‘Ladybug’, well, he was rolling away, shouting something the cat couldn't qute make out. Then suddenly, it all became clear. 

“Cat!! I got it, I got it!”

The hero was lying on the ground, holding a small, black ring in the air. He looked triumphant and proud to have snatched it, but Cat knew the battle wasn't over yet.

Forget-Me-Not was furious by now. She stood there, holding her hand to her face and screamed at both the lack of a certain black ring, and at the new Ladybug.

They needed to act, fast.

"LB! Crush it! Step on it! Do something, and hurry!!"

As the red clad hero recognized the words spoken, his eyes widened and he nodded Cat's way before throwing the ring to the ground.

Chloe, still in akuma form, rushed to get her ring back, but thankfully, ‘Ladybug’ smashed it just in time. Forget-Me-Not screamed as she saw her last hope being crushed before her eyes, but ‘Ladybug’ simply stood and watched happily as the butterfly flew away. As it flew away.

Cat couldn't help it, he began screaming at his partner. He couldn't go through that again. "Purify it! Catch it! Don't just stand there!!"

But it was too late. Cat rose to his feet, still clutching his side with one hand and grabbing his stick with the other. He attempted to propel himself upwards to catch the butterfly, but just as he was within reach, a sharp pain shot through his chest, and he fell to the ground with a loud thump.

‘Ladybug’ rushed to help him, concern and confusion covering his face, but it was too late.

"No no no no no..."

Ladybug raised an eyebrow and swatted down to face Cat.

"Hey you oka--"

"No no no we're screwed. I can't do this again. Not without her!" Cat honestly didn't know what was wrong with him. Yeah the akuma escaped and they were totally screwed, but they could fix it, right? Right?

Aaaaarrrrgghh! Okay, he needed to calm down. He knew exactly why he was freaking out, he just needed to accept it. Just... He sighed. Ladybug. And not this phony. He needed his Ladybug-

"Uhh, dude, what's wrong? We beat her right?"

Cat looked over at the now detransformed Chloe. To anyone else, it looked like everything had been fixed. That everything was okay. But Cat knew better. Oh he knew it better than them all. "No. You didn't purity the akuma. You made it worse. She'll be back."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Ladybug forgets who she is?

“What do you mean she’ll be back? We did it, right?

Cat groaned and held his face in his hands, pacing back and forth, getting more and more agitated with each step. “No we didn't do it! This is exactly what happened last time. Oh how did we fix it then? Uggh! I can’t remember!!”

“Uh dude? You okay?” Nino stepped forward, holding his hand out with concern in his eyes. But before the new hero could even tough the cat, he batted the hand away and nearly growled at the boy.

Ladybug shrank back. He honestly didn't understand what had gone wrong. He swore they had done it all right. It seemed to have gone down the way he had seen the real LB do it on the Ladybug. Was he missing something? “Yo uh, what’s up?”

“What’s up?!” He hissed. “You're what's up. Don't you understand how bad this is?!” Ladybug shook his head. “Its awful! You let the akuma--t-the butterfly--get away! You can't let it escape without purifying it of the evil inside! If it isn't purified, then the battle isn't over. That akuma will go off and multiply, we won't be able to stop it. Hundreds of Forget-Me-Nots could be over the town in just a few hours! And worst of all, Chloe's probably gonna turn back again if not some other innocent civilian! Not only will we have to fight it again, but it's going to be even harder than before! And you! Uggh I can’t believe this, it's all your fault!!”

Wide-eyed, the DJ took a step back, holding his hands up in defense. He felt awful. Nino knew he had totally screwed up. He could see that through Cat’s burning rage. It was just, just so stupid of him! He hadn't even thought to ‘purify the akuma’. And even if he had, he had no idea how to do it! Nino could have sworn Tikki said something about that before, but he was so nervous that he must not have heard. Ugh he felt so dumb! All he needed to do was take the evil out or something. That wasn't so hard! And he couldn't even manage that! Uggggh. And Cat didn't’ really help much. He looked terrifying. The guy was furious, that was clear. He really didn't feel safe around him anymore. The dude needs Ladybug, he thought. She could definitely calm him down. But wait… Would Marinete have her memory back yet? They had gotten Chloe to be unakumized or whatever. Maybe that reversed the memory wipe thing! Wow, that would be just great! LB could fix everything. But… there was always the possibility that she was still completely helpless.

Instead of dwelling on the subject, Nino opened his mouth to address the hero with this question, but the cat was still so furious at him that Nino didn't dare say a word. He figured it'd be better for him to just not speak at all right now. But still, even though he screwed up big time, and he absolutely hated that, someone needed to think logically and take charge. And he might need to be that someone. He looked over to see Cat’s tail swishing back and forth angrily. He was tapping his foot repeatedly and softly muttering things to himself.

Nino was sure he would get clawed for this, but someone really needed to take charge.

“H-hey Cat N--”

“WHAT?”

Nino flinched and stepped back. ”I know you're mad and all, and I totally messed things up so I deserve it, but we can still at least try to fix this? Right bro?”

“Don't call me bro.” The cat turned again, seemingly determined to hold a grudge. Though he still seemed slightly intrigued by what his ‘partner’ had to say. “But you’re right. Any ideas?”

It sounded like it pained the hero to say this, and it only made Nino feel even worse, but he figured he needed to say something. “Uhh, yeah so...maybe we could, you know, protect Chloe or something. That way she doesn't go bad again, or if she does we'll be right there to stop her.”

Cat Noir turned, seeming to be considering the idea up until his face fell and he gasped.

Nino turned as well, confused until he saw their battle site to be completely deserted, Chloe was gone.

“Where is she?!” Cat was nearly screaming by now.

Nino tentatively held out his hand, trying to calm the deranged hero down a bit.

“I don't know, she's just…gone. But we could always go check on LB, uhh I mean your LB of course, she might remember something by by now--”

Cat’s eyes suddenly lit up, It seemed as if he’d forgotten all about his grudge against the new hero, but Nino could still see the tenseness in the hero’s shoulders. They weren't done with this yet.

“Where is she?” Nino blanked. It took him a few seconds to realize he now meant Marinete, and not Chloe.

“Uhhh.” 

Cat waiting intently for the new LB to speak, to say something, anything. But Nino wasn’t so sure. If he told him where the real LB was, then he would basically be telling him where Marinette was, and he had a feeling she wasn't ready to give up her secret identity to her partner, even if she had no idea she was doing it.

“Can’t really tell you that...sorry bro.”

The hero’s eyes shot up in surprise and possibly a bit of rage. He clearly didn't like that answer. “What do you mean you can’t tell me? You just suggested we go check up on her, how are we gonna do that if I don't know where she is??”

“Woahhhhh there. Okay dude, seeing as I’m in her costume, if you go and see her, well...uhh...I think you get it.”

“Oh.” Cat looked down. He clearly had gotten it. Not at first but, this dude clearly wanted to protect LB’s identity. That was good. Even if he desperately wished it wasn’t. It meant he was a friend. But man, he’d really put the dude down. He really needed to calm down. This guy wasn’t Ladybug but he was trying to help. He was doing all that he could and wow he was being a jerk. 

Cat sighed and took a deep breath to calm himself. He was overreacting and he needed to man up and get the job done. This dude was right. Chloe was gone so they needed to find the real Ladybug. The new Ladybug could do that. Ugh he really didn’t know what to call the guy. He looked like LB, but it just felt wrong to use her name for someone else. It just wasn’t the same. “Okay I get it, how about you go see how she’s doing. I’ll stay here and wait. But, uhh… This may sound a bit weird but, is there something else I can call you besides Ladybug? It just feels wrong when it’s not really her.”

“Oh, oh yeah. Call me Ni-uhh. Ni…” Crap. He really shouldn’t be telling this guy his real name. He had no idea who Cat was and Cat didn’t need to know who he was. Oh man how do superheroes come up with sweet nicknames on the spot?

Cat Noir looked at the guy, arms crossed with a deadpan look on his face. “You want me to call you Niuhh?”

“No no no.” Okay, time to come up with a sweet name. “How about Ni Jay. You know cause it sounds like DJ.”

Wow. That sounded like crap. At least he didn’t spurt out Gentlebug or Manlybug or something. Oh gosh those all sounded awful. 

The hero across from him held back a confused chuckle. “I’m just gonna call you DJ.”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Nino ran as fast as he could to where he had last seen Mari and Alya. He had nearly used the yoyo again to get there, but seeing as the last time he used it ended in disaster, he’d rather not risk it. 

It only took him a few minutes, and he found it surprisingly easier to run with the suit still on. Just as he rounded the last corner, Nino swore he saw a flash of blonde to the side, but after looking around for a second he continued onward and shrugged it off.

Mari and Alya were still where he had left them. Alya was leaning against a stone wall and she was holding the confused Marinette to her like the girl was a stuffed animal or something. Alya looked exhausted, though she seemed to be back to normal for the most part. But Marinette still had that dull look in her eyes, so Nino was already fearing for the worst. He slowed down as he neared the two girls and stopped just a few feet away from them. Alya looked up gratefully at his approach even though she still appeared to be extremely tired. 

“Hey Als, does Mari remember anything yet?”

Alya’s face fell and she looked away. Guess not. Well then he was screwed. “A-are you sure?” He asked. “Anything at all? Mari?”

The doll-like girl turned her head at her name but shook her head sadly. Apparently she knew enough to know that she was helpless at the moment, but that wasn’t enough for her to be Ladybug.

Ugggh. Nino couldn't believe this. Mari was still just as brain dead as earlier if not even more so! He had really been counting on Mari to miraculously remember everything or at least enough to perform as Ladybug, but that wish was clearly made in vain. He was so screwed. He'd already made a mess of things earlier and he was sure to only make it worse later. Like, how was he even supposed to purify the butterfly? Did he like will it to be pure or did he squash the evil out of it or-or what? Uggggh he really needed someone to help who wasn't super ticked at him. Cat seemed to be acting somewhat reasonable right before he left, but the dude still didn’t trust him. And man that mess up with a nickname was awful. He really needed pun lessons from Adrien or something.

On second thought he really didn’t need more puns in his life. But it looked like he wasn’t much help around here…

Before anyone could protest. Nino helped the two girls up with a quiet comment to Marinette on how Cat really need his Ladybug right now, and walked them a block to the Dupain Cheng bakery. All three were pretty much silent by now. Most of the town seemed pretty quiet as well. It was pretty eerie, and very disturbing. Nino didn’t like it one bit. 

When he got his friends to the bakery, Marinette’s mom popped out with tears in her eyes and rushed to swoop the two girls into a incredibly relieved hug. But when Marinette didn’t recognize her, or respond in any way besides confusion, the woman burst into tears and it seemed she would never let the two go. Nino watched on in despair. He was about to leave when the baker’s wife finally noticed him. 

She was curious as to why Ladybug was now a man, and he responded by telling her the simple truth. That Ladybug had lost her memory and he was acting in her place. She seemed extremely grateful at this, and didn’t catch on to the fact that by Ladybug he meant Marinette. She then explained how her husband Tom had lost his memory as well. That she had been taking care of him the past little while while worrying over her daughter the entire time.

After a brief conversation, Nino was able to leave knowing that his friends were safe for the time being. He rushed back to where he had left Cat Noir, using his yoyo only when he needed to. He made it back to the area to find the hero still pacing. Nino wouldn’t be surprised if there was now a groove in the ground where the cat had been walking. 

As soon as the black clad hero turned, his eyes widened in anticipation. He ran up to the new hero and waited for an answer. 

Nino really hoped he could give him the answer he wanted, but there wasn’t really anything else he could do. “Sorry bro…”

Cat clearly seemed to understand. He bowed his head and kicked the ground in frustration.

“Are you sure there’s not anything we can do? Maybe I could jog her memory? I mean we’ve been partners for months, surely there’s some way I can help her remember.”

Nino shook his head. “No there isn’t, and even if you were to try you couldn’t do so without discovering her identity. I thought she wanted to keep it secret.”

“I know I know, but I just can’t do this without her! I know I’ve been a real jerk to you and honestly I’m really, really sorry about that. I just feel so lost without her, she always knew what to do and now she doesn’t and…” He sighed and held his hand up to his face. “Any more ideas?” 

Nino jumped when he was suddenly included in this seemingly one way conversation. “Uhh we wait for the akuma to come back and then we beat the crap out of her. You could maybe even teach me a few things before so I can actually fight then.”

Cat nodded and swiftly agreed to the arrangement. There really wasn’t much else they could do. Cat was sure the akuma wouldn't be back for a while because of his previous encounter with an unpurified akuma, but he couldn't’ have been more wrong. 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Down at the back of an abandoned alleyway, Chloe Bourgeois sat with her back hunched and her head resting on her quivering knees. She was terrified. But turning into an evil monster did that to you. And what was worse, was that she could remember every second of it. Every second of that darkness. That awful feeling of regret that still lingered in her heart.

She had known something was wrong. The few minutes she had suck stuck around after returning back to normal were where all the wrongness started.

She remembered Cat Noir being there. It was all kind of hazy, but she recalled him arguing with someone wearing Ladybug’s outfit. But Chloe had known it wasn’t really her. She could tell. Well, besides the fact that this superhero was a guy that is. She also remembered seeing a small black butterfly as it flew into the air and slowly disappeared. Cat Noir had tried to go after it, but the imposter only stood there stupidly and watched. She had cringed when the hero fell and hit the ground with a thump. Just thinking about it made her flinch. But looking back again, she remembered that was when the yelling began.

The two heroes were still arguing at that time, and Cat had appeared to be absolutely furious with the newcomer. He had kept pointing in the direction of the butterfly that had been long gone by now. The two had nearly looked like they were about to start fighting. She really hadn't wanted to get in the middle of it.

Before the heroes had noticed her, Chloe had stood up and walked waveringly to the side. At the time, she had no idea where she was heading. But really, anywhere was better than there.

She had then proceeded to make her way down the streets and alleyways of Paris in a daze. Even now she couldn't recall much of her navigation throughout the city, but that hardly mattered now seeing as where she had ended up. 

Before making it to the alleyway where she currently resided, Chloe had found herself heading toward the Dupain Cheng bakery. She hadn't known why this had happened, but she was about a block away and had just turned a corner when she heard footsteps from behind her. Immediately she panicked and slid into a sort of slot in the wall between buildings. It wasn’t quite an alley, but it had been wide enough to keep her hidden from the red clad superhero blazing past her. 

She remembered being very surprised at this and had just started following the supposed hero when he came to a stop in front of two girls leaning against the stone wall of a building. Chloe had stopped as well, but kept inching forward until she could clearly see the two girls and be able to hear their conversation. But once she had gotten a good look at them, she realized she was looking at Alya and...Marinette. Ugh...

They had talked about not remembering something, probably caused by her now that Chloe thought about it. But it hadn't been until the three were leaving that their conversation really peaked her interest. 

The boy dressed in spots had called Marinette Ladybug. Even now, in the alleyway, Chloe was torn up by just the idea of it. It had just been a passing comment, the hero saying that Cat Noir needed...Ladybug. But he was referring to Marinette. Or was he? What if she was just overreacting. Marinette could never be Ladybug. No way. 

But it was true, wasn’t it?

Deep down she knew it and it only made her angrier. She was losing her Adrien. If Marinette really was Ladybug...well, she couldn’t really compete with that now could she. She no longer had a chance with him with a superhero in the mix. Chloe bowed her head. She was done. She wanted to forget.

“I can arrange that for you.”

Chloe jumped at the soft, deep voice sounding in her head. And by opening her eyes, she was able to see a familiar pink glimmering at the edge of her vision. 

This was it, her chance to forget.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Ladybug forgets who she is?

Marinette was lost. She was lost in her own mind. Everything just felt so...weird. Her head seemed to be almost empty, but at the same time it didn’t. It felt so odd that she just couldn’t describe it. It felt almost like it was full of...nothing. It was like someone had shoved a brick in her head where her brain belonged. Just a large mass of nothingness. The more she learned, the more she was able to fill that nothingness with knowledge. But still, it just felt so wrong.

From what she had gathered, her name was Marinette. But she was also called Ladybug, whenever she wore the red and black suit. That was still really confusing. Nino, was it? He had been wearing it before for some reason. Now Nino, he was her friend. It seemed that she knew him before, not well, but enough to call him a friend. And Alyssa, no, no it was Alya. Yes. Alya said she was her best friend. Marinette could only assume that meant they were very close friends and that they knew each other well. And then the name Adrien started popping up. Alya seemed really down when the name caused no recognition in the young girl. Marinette only assumed he was another good friend of hers. But she still had yet to meet the guy. 

But after that, she had met two other people. Nino came back in the weird outfit, and brought her and Alya to--a house,was it?--that smelled really good in Marinette's opinion. A woman that looked surprisingly like herself (or so she assumed) ran out of the building and had water leaking from her eyes. Alya had been doing that earlier.

Marinette had of course tried to comfort the woman, but she could tell that was of no use. The woman clearly knew her and she couldn't do anything about it.

After a bit of explaining from Nino, she and Alya were led into the house where many brightly colored 'pastries' were scattered about. She had needed to ask Alya for the correct term, but after learning it, Marinette thought the word 'pastries' really fit. It felt right somehow, as if she had been hearing the word her whole life.

As they led her up through the house, Marinette recalled passing a large man with a very blank expression on his face. She felt somewhat sad when she saw him, and when she felt something tickling her face, she found wet ‘tears’ there. It was a weird feeling.

After that encounter, Marinette had been ushered into a very creative and bright looking room. Alya kept saying that she needed to help Marinette regain her memory, whatever that meant. The auburn haired girl would bring over pictures of a blonde kid around her age. She referred to the boy as Adrien. Marinette could only assume that this was who the girl had been talking about earlier. And by the looks of him, she really could see him being another close friend of hers.

Alya had kept on rushing about for a while after that. She would bring Marinette a new item, and then proceed to tell her everything about it. Marinette tried to remember everything the girl told her, but that was next to impossible.

But one thing Alya kept returning to, was pictures of Adrien. She even had a few ‘videos’ on what she called her 'phone'. The more Alya told her about the boy, the more Marinette seemed to like him. That was when she started to wonder where he was now.

Marinette, for the most part, knew where everyone else was. Everyone else referring to everyone she knew about at the moment. But for some reason, Adrien's location had never popped up.

At one point, she dared to ask Alya this question. And though she was delighted at the girl's interested in the boy, Alya shrugged it off, saying the boy was probably safe at home, and that she shouldn't worry.

But that didn't stop her worrying, somehow things just felt even more wrong than before.

It didn't feel right, hiding out here with Alya. Marinette had no idea what it was, but she almost felt like something was pulling her away. Like she wasn't supposed to be here. She was needed somewhere else, but she still didn't know why or where.

Then she looked down at her hands. The black bands were still there. But they seemed to be lighter than before, more like a light gray than a black. Tentatively, she touched one. It was cold. Cold and lost and empty. That was when she felt her mind clear. It wasn't as of her memories had returned. No, that wasn't it. She still had no recollection of her life story. But she had a certain feeling now. One that seemed very familiar, and even more important. She was needed, someone needed her. She had to go.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Cat Noir and ‘DJ’ had been making their way throughout the town for about a half hour by now. The two had argued a bit of course, that was expected, but Cat had given in eventually and apologized profusely for his actions earlier. DJ had apologized too, even if he hadn't really needed to.

Thankfully, after that, they were able to get along for the most part. They weren’t quite ‘bros’ yet, but Cat could tell that there was some familiarity to the hero that he found he approved of.

The two were currently scouring the city for their missing akuma victim. Chloe had just vanished after the mishap. They had no leads, no clues, and no information on where she was. It was a desperate search, but they didn't really have any other choice.

It had only been around 20 minutes when the two heroes had grown tired of their search. Nino was the first to speak.

“Sorry dude, but I think she’s gone. We lost her.”

Cat knew they had lost her. That was obvious. But it didn't mean they would stop looking. Just one of the many, many things he’d learned from being a hero.

“Yeah, but we’ll find her. We have to.”

The two continued looking in silence for a few more minutes before Cat, who was leading the two, stopped on a large roof and surveyed the area. After finding nothing of interest in the area, Cat plopped down and started strumming his fingers against his cheek. Then the strumming stopped.

Cat’s ears twitched. “Hey DJ, did you hear that?”

The hero stopped and listened, holding his hand up to his ear to better hear what his partner was referring to. He waited for nearly a minute before he groaned and let his hand fall. “There's nothing there Cat, I can't hear anyt--” 

And then someone screamed.

Cat jumped up, looking toward the source of the sound, his ears twitching again to catch any more unnatural sounds in the city.

Another scream, this one coming from behind them.

Both heroes turned. Then they spun and looked to the other. As quick as they could the two agreed to split up, DJ going to the first scream and Cat to the second. They would contact the other if they found anything.

Cat leapt off the roof and began making his way toward the second scream. The city was eerily quiet by now, and he was still unsure where exactly the scream had come from. There were no other sounds of fighting or struggle. Surely, if someone had screamed, then something was going on. But no, it was just silent.

Something was up.

Cat was sure it was something he didn't want to be involved in. But being a superhero, he didn't exactly have a choice. 

He had made his way down a few streets when he heard a small shriek. This time he was close enough to find where it had come from. A small alleyway a few buildings down. He was sure of it.

Before anything could stop him, Cat quickly made his way to the small alley. He slowed as he approached. The alley was dark, but that was to be expected. It was covered in shadows and without his night vision, he wouldn't have been able to see much. He took a few steps in and stopped. No one was there. It was completely empty aside from a few boxes and piles of junk at the end. But then, where had the scream come from? And that was when he saw a shadow overlapping his own. Oh no. 

Click. Click. Click.

Cat froze. It was her.

Slowly, he turned, but he hardly recognized the figure standing there. It was true that she looked like Chloe, she was wearing the same outfit Forget-Me-Not had worn earlier, but she was still vastly different. Her diamond heels caused the ground to sizzle and blacken with each step. He could clearly see where the girl had come from, because it was all black. Little trails of something akin to smoke rose up from her heels while she walked, as well as some emanating from her diamond fingertips.

She also wore a grin that was so unlike Chloe, that Cat nearly grimaced. But the real difference was in the eyes. Chloe was gone, her eyes, normally having been full of vengeance and conviction, were now only filled with hate. Pure, dark hate. Not to mention the longing for destruction and the utter confidence that she had already won. It was truly terrifying.

Cat was rooted in place. He couldn't move. She was coming. Coming for him.

“Here kitty kitty.” She cooed. The voice sending chills up his spine. His tail stood stiff and frozen as he processed what he had just heard. 

Hawkmoth. He could have sworn it him, b-but it couldn’t be. The voice was distinctly feminine, but the mocking tone mixed in to create the voice of his enemy. A voice full of pure evil.

“It’s too late you know.” Cat cringed. “She gave up, you’re ‘friend’ is gone. And guess what? No. Ladybug. Is coming. To save you.”

He had been right, it was Hawkmoth. Had he taken control of Chloe? Could he even do that? Cat didn’t like Chloe’s attitude one bit, no one did. But did she really deserve that? Did anyone deserve such an awful fate? There had to be some way--some way to save her!

He had to go find DJ.

Cat stepped back hurriedly, expecting to have enough energy to get away, but his legs collapsed from under him and he fell. 

Was he really so terrified?

But after looked up at the looming figure above him, he realized that he was. He was so scared. He felt like they were playing cat and mouse. But he wasn’t the cat anymore. He was the mouse now. He was lost, and he was scared. Scared of losing not Chloe, but her.

And worst of all, he was nearly crying.

Only nearly though, a hero couldn't afford to cry. Even if he couldn't move, he might as well stand his ground and die fighting. 

Screeeech!

Cat looked up. So did Forget-Me-Not. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The only thing Cat could see was...an open window? What was that about? Had that always been open?

But quickly his mind snapped back to his imminent doom. There was no time to dwell on an open window. Chloe had made it to him at last. Her face was now inches away from his own, her clawed hands softly skimming the front of his outfit. Yet again, it sent shivers up his spine.

Then, before he knew it, those hands were gone. In fact, all of Forget-Me-Not was gone. One second she was there, glowering over him, and the next, she was just...gone. All in a blur of brown and pink. Well, not gone exactly. She was on the ground. And without even looking, he knew she did not like that.

In slow motion, Cat looked down. And that was when he saw...Marinette. Marinette had just--she just tackled an akuma!

What?! Marinette?! What in the world was she doing here? Wh-how had she-where? What?! Cat took a step back. 

Here was his classmate, his friendly, cheery classmate, tackling the most powerful akuma he had seen so far. And she was...she was winning… B-but how? Marinette was his classmate, his friend! His sweet, smiley friend! Why would she be here? She was putting herself in danger! A-and...had she known he was in trouble? She couldn't have, but she arrived when he was only seconds from...death. Maybe...she just saved my life…

But that was when he heard her gasp. No longer was she winning. 

In an instant, Marinette had flipped over till she lay on her back. The girl who had been clear of injuries beforehand, now had four short, but painful looking, scratches on her arm. She was staring wide eyed at the red, sticky blood coming from the wound. She looked as if she had never seen blood before. And she almost looked as terrified as he was…

And then Cat saw Forget-Me-Not getting up. He started towards her and grinned slightly when he found he was able to move. It was probably thanks to Mari being there. No way he was going to let her get hurt.

The akuma groaned in a way that was still somehow terrifying. She held her hand to her head, growling slightly and glaring at Marinette, the glint of a ring catching Adrien’s eye as she stood.

That was when Cat took his chance.

He pounced, his hand stretching out to grab the cold, diamond wrist. Forget-Me-Not flinched and turned her head to face him, but not fast enough. Cat had her ring in his hand and a few feet between them before she had registered what had happened.

Then Forget-Me-Not began barrelling his way. Without thinking, he threw the ring over Chloe and straight to Marinette. Well, close to Marinette at least. The ring clattered to the ground and slid into the street and Mari jumped as she began looking for the ring. 

Forget-Me-Not’s gaze had followed the ring as it sailed over her head and into the street. She now moved to retrieve it, but Cat was ready for that. He stepped forward and grabbed the girl around her waist, holding her back in a sort of bittersweet hug. The girl struggled and attempted to push his arms away, but Cat wasn't letting go.

"Marinette! Get the ring to DJ! Argghh, I mean Ladybug! GO!" The girl popped up, ring in hand and confusion on her face. She then looked down and stared at the ring cupped in her open palms, not moving an inch despite Cat's loud warnings.

"Marinette!!"

The designer ignored him. She was still staring at the ring for a good minute or two until suddenly, she gasped. Recognition lit up in her eyes and she stared in awe at the akumized object. Her eyes filled with life and and her mouth went wide. She gave one quick look to Cat before stumbling a bit and sprinting away.

And then just like that, she was gone.

Cat then made the mistake of letting his guard down, and Chloe knew it. He relaxed his grip on the girl ever so slightly, but not a second later he was yowling in pain. He felt the tip of a very sharp, very hot diamond heel digging into his right foot. He let go. And that was his biggest mistake.

She ran.

Immediately, he moved to run after her, but he didn't make it one step before he was on the ground. His foot felt like it was on fire. He grabbed it instinctively, painfully curling up into the fetal position. The soft click, click, click of Chloe's heels faded away as Cat stared at his injured foot. There was a hole. And it was red. Dark red.

Without thinking, he touched it, and yelped.

Cat looked around frantically, cringing at the pain but desperate for something to stop the bleeding. He was holding back tears. But no, no, he didn't have time for that! What was he thinking? There was nothing around here anyway, and once DJ purified the akuma, Cat wouldn't have to worry about the hole in his foot anymore.

Slowly, he stood. He was sore all over and he was sure his foot would fall off any second, but somehow, he made it to his feet. He then proceeded to limp out of the alleyway and into the street. Forget-Me-Not and Marinette were gone.

What had he been thinking?! He had thrown the item Forget-Me-Not wanted most to his friend! And now she was the one who was in danger. 

No, he thought. I will not let my classmate get hurt, I will save her. 

Marinette will be okay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Ladybug forgets who she is?

Marinette had been running for no more than a minute when she heard sharp footsteps echoing behind her. Quickly she turned her head to look, and sure enough, there was Chloe, enraged and heading her way. Without delay she whirled forward again and turned the next corner, and the next. She was zig-zagging through Paris, trying to get the villain off her trail, but it was to no avail. It felt like she had been running for hours, but it really couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. She just wasn’t fast enough. And she definitely wouldn’t be able to keep this pace up for long.

Before her strength would completely fail her, Marinette looked down at her hands. The formerly black bands on her ring fingers were now a misty gray. For a while now, she had assumed the bands showed the fogginess or emptiness of her mind. That once the bands were either completely white, or even just gone, she would have her memory back. She was already feeling it now. Just holding the akumized ring in her hand was bringing back feelings of her adventures as Ladybug. She just knew that she had to stay strong, somehow she had to save everyone. It was kinda weird, after a long time of just feeling...nothing, but it wasn’t unnatural. It was all coming back to her, as familiar as the sun on her face. She, she could remember Adrien. Not the boy himself, but the feelings of butterflies in her stomach and red hot blushes on her cheeks. That thought alone helped her to move faster. But then again, there was also the confidence and power with which Ladybug held herself each day. And not only that, but the compassion and willingness to move forward, to do whatever it takes to save...well, everyone. It was all so clear and the girl was more than ready to just remember everything. She needed to get to Nino. He had the ladybug miraculous, so right now, only he could save them. He could get her memory back.

With the turn of one last corner, she found herself in another unfamiliar, but empty, street. And there he was. “NINO!” She shouted.

He turned, and at the same time, Marinette stopped and stood with a large grin on her face. Once he saw her, his eyes lit up and he ran her way, his expression changing with each step. By the time he had gone ten steps, still several yards away, he was waving his hands and yelling at her to move. 

But it was too late.

Marinette attempted to take a step forward, only realizing what he had meant when she found herself trapped in a headlock. An awfully mutilated voice began whispering in her ear, bringing back the horrid feelings she remembered from her time as Ladybug. It wasn’t very pleasant. 

“Give me the ring little girl. Give it to me and no one gets hurt.” At the same time, Marinette saw a diamond enclosed hand held out in front of her, causing Nino to cautiously pause, but still inch forward. Apparently, Forget-Me-Not didn’t like that. “STAY BACK! One more step and she dies!”

Nino stopped. Marinette held her breath. And a few blocks away, Cat was slowly limping toward the soft, muffled yellings of the crew. 

Cat felt like he was dying. He wasn’t of course, he just felt really awful. It was like one of those days at school that seemed to go on and on and on. It went on forever and you just got more tired and grumbly with each new assignment. Except this time, his assignments were to fight this akuma, over and over and over. It was exhausting. And having a giant hole in your foot doesn’t help much. 

He could hear screams. They were close, but not close enough. He couldn’t make out the words, but someone was in trouble and he wasn’t doing anything. As he limped around one last corner, he saw them. There was DJ in a wary fighting stance, facing Forget-Me-Not who was currently holding Marinette in a headlock. He continued limping forward, trying to keep his moans of pain to a minimum. Forget-Me-Not had her back to him. Maybe he could actually do something.

Without delay, Cat quickened his pace. Nino looked his way and nearly gasped, but Cat started frantically waving his hand under his chin. Thankfully, he understood and turned his attention back to Mari.

At a closer look, Adrien could see that Marinette was holding something. And it was only when Nino started yelling that he realized what it was. "Don't give it to him Mari!"

The girl looked frantically at DJ, then back to her hand. Her knuckles were nearly white from holding the ring so tightly. Cat couldn't quite see her face, but he knew she was terrified.

He was only a few yards away now. Any second, he would be able to reach out and snatch Marinette away from Forget-Me-Not. 

But then he tripped. 

His injured foot doubled over underneath him. It hurt like death itself. And then he fell. Right onto Forget-Me-Not.

The villain gasped and loosed her grip on Marinette as she was thrown to the ground. The young designer jumped away and stared wide eyed at her rescuer. As Chloe began to struggle underneath the injured hero, Marinette began inching backwards towards Nino. 

"NO!" The akuma screamed. She reached out to grab the girl's ankle, but that was when she ran the other way. As she ran, Marinette had her eyes trained on the akuma and she ran into Nino, nearly dropping the ring. He took it from her gratefully and smashed it to ground after a few words were exchanged between them. 

Chloe was still struggling beneath Cat, but he held her down as he watched the black butterfly begin to fly away for the second time that day. He was fighting a strong urge to jump up and go catch it, but he had to keep Chloe down. They were NOT going to go through the trouble of getting the ring off her AGAIN. 

Thankfully, he didn’t need to catch the butterfly, because DJ did. As soon as it had escaped, DJ pulled out the yoyo and swung it into the air, catching the butterfly and releasing it almost instantly with a bright glow emanating from the now white butterfly. After yet another word with Marinette, which really confused Cat, DJ threw the yoyo again and shouted “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG”, all while Chloe struggled and screamed underneath him. Once the magic spread over the city though, the struggling stopped, and Cat was able to get up. The girl was puzzled and very, very quiet. He helped her to her feet and steadied her as she regained her balance and looked around at the scene before her. She just looked lost. Lost and tired and confused. It was a weird look for Chloe, but not entirely unnatural. Cat was happy to see that his foot had fully healed now. It made walking a lot easier.

The girl was clinging to the superhero, not saying a word but thinking hundreds. She almost jumped as Marinette and Ladybug walked towards her. But Ladybug was...he was a guy. She tooked a step back and looked up to the feline hero in confusion. He smiled back at her reassuringly and waved to the two as they approached. 

“Nice job DJ.” The hero nodded in return and smiled gratefully. Out of habit, Cat held out his hand in the customary fist bump he and Ladybug always shared after a battle. DJ returned the fist bump gratefully, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see Marinette. She was looking at their hands in dismay, as if she somehow didn’t approve of the fist bump. Weird.

For some reason, the girl was avoiding looking at him. As he talked with DJ and calmed Chloe down, the designer did nothing but find something else to look at. Like, how interesting can the ground be? It looks just like the rest of the road. But nope, she was still looking away.

She also looked a bit...antsy. Like she was ready to get out of there. Crap, he hoped he hadn’t scared her or something. That was his classmate, man he’d feel awful if he’d scared Mari. She was just so sweet. He had to talk to DJ and get things figured out, but there was something about the girl that just kept bugging him. He kept looking her way and it wasn’t till her face was turned toward something behind him that he realized what was so familiar. That was when he saw it.

There was not one, but two Ladybugs standing before him. One was in costume, the other...the other in disguise. A disguise he hadn’t seen through in all the months he’d known her. She had been right there. Right behind him. All. This. Time. It had been her. And now here she was. Smiling up at him, or behind him, with those wide blue eyes he fawned over every night. 

Here was not only his friend, but his lady. She was here. She had been here all along, and he hadn't even known it. She hadn't even known it. It was mindblowing. Wow. Just-just wow.

What was even happening right now? Cat couldn’t think straight, he could barely think at all! Had he-had he just discovered her secret? After all their crazy battles together; all their successes, all their failures. After all that, all it took was her. Not Ladybug, but really, truly her. Marinette. Because really, that's who she was, and it had taken him so long to see it. Taken him so long to see what he loved in Ladybug in, so prominent in his friend. In Marinette. Oh he couldn’t stop thinking her name and oh, oh, that spark he loved in her. It had been there all along. It showed in her eyes every day, if he'd only taken a closer look. But now she was here. She was really here.

It was Marinette. His best friend, his love, his lady. All right there in front of him.

“M-marinette?” Cat cringed as he heard his voice crack. The girl finally looked his way and she saw his recognition immediately. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. She knew what he was thinking. And it looked like she was about to deny it, to spurt out whatever nonsense she could to keep her secret safe. But it was too late for that, and both of them could see it. 

She stood there motionless, not knowing what to do, not knowing what to say. And he was the same, if not worse. It was just, just mindblowing! It was her. He-he couldn’t believe it! And now he knew. Not only that, but she knew that he knew, and he knew she knew he knew, and it looked like DJ knew too-and oh crap he probably knew he knew too. Wow his mind was a mess, too many knews. Too much knowledge. 

“I-i-i-uhhh…” Mari sputtered.

Cat chuckled a bit. He felt the same way. He took a deep breath and walked over to the girl, trying to look as confident as possible. Chloe had let go of him by now and stood shyly to the side. 

Mari shrank back a bit as he approached and his confidence dropped, but as he was reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder, she grabbed his hand in her own and gave him a sweet smile. He held her hand in return and even though both were red in the face, they put on matching smiles to mask their astonishment. Cat took another deep breath as he began to speak.

“Umm, we should talk. About all this. Like soon.”

Mari giggled quietly at his answer and nodded, though she still looked pretty flustered. “Yeah, w-we really do. B-but first I need to talk to Chloe.”

Cat’s eyes followed Mari as she turned toward the blonde. She nearly jumped at the mention of her name, and her eyes were still open wide in the shock of their whole ordeal. Cat let go of Mari’s hand and she walked toward the startled girl. The designer wore her cheery smile and talked with Chloe confidently, but not aggressively. Both were apologizing to the other and Cat’s respect for the two grew as they humbled themselves and ended their apologies with a hug.

DJ was watching the two happily, just like Cat was, but that was when Cat realized he needed to go. He hadn’t used Cataclysm at all this battle, cause if he had he would never have been able to finish it on his own, but Plagg was probably exhausted by now. They’d been fighting all day and the kwami really needed a break. And now was his chance. With the two girls hugging it out and the other hero distracted, he could get away and detransform. He had told Mari they needed to talk, but maybe it would be better to do it as Adrien. Now that he knew her identity, there was no way he wouldn’t reveal his own. At the very least she deserved to know who he was.

Without delay, Cat backed up slowly and slipped down another street. Once he had made sure he was alone, and that no one had followed him, he let go of his transformation and Plagg fell into his open palms with a thump. He wasn’t moving.

“Plagg? Hey cheesebreath, you doing okay?” The kwami still wasn’t moving. “Plagg!” He yelled as loud as he dared. “PLAGG ARE YOU OKA-” 

WHAP.

Adrien looked down at the now moving kwami, of which had a very annoyed look on his face. His cheek stung, and Adrien was attempted to slap the kwami back, but that was kind of hard when the creature was only a few inches tall. Instead, the kwami sat with his back hunched and his face twisted in a growl. 

“What was that for you dweeb? I was trying to sleep, no need to panic or nothing...” Adrien sighed and nearly dropped the kwami for scaring him so bad. He contemplated it for a minute or so before realizing he should probably get back to his friends. Wait a second, could kwamis even sleep while in the miraculous? Ugh, he didn’t want to think about that right now.

Instead, Plagg zipped into his shirt and swiftly fell asleep while Adrien made his way around the corner again. He turned to see his three friends looking around dumbfounded, as if they were confused as to why the feline superhero had suddenly disappeared. But as soon as they turned and saw Adrien, their eyes widened, but the now detransformed hero could tell they hadn't figured out his secret. Yet.

He walked up to the three and was surprised when Chloe didn't run up to him in tears. Her eyes were still red and puffy though. She backed up as he approached, but Marinette grabbed her arm and gently squeezed to keep her there. Adrien was a bit stunned to see the blonde so...scared, but it took him a minute to realize that he wasn’t Cat Noir anymore. But still, did she not trust him anymore? Even when it was Chloe, well, it kind of hurt. 

“A-adrien. What are you d-doing here?” 

Adrien almost jumped at the sound of Mari’s voice. He’d just realized that, even though he knew she was Ladybug, she didn’t exactly know that he was Cat Noir… He had to come up with an excuse now. Man! What has he been thinking? Coming back as Adrien--wow now that was stupid.

“Uh, I uh. I saw you Mari, you were running. I wanted to make sure you were okay and all, I mean there's been an akuma running around...” He quickly looked to Chloe. “Not that that's a problem or anything!”

Oh man. He did not do well under pressure. Even worse when he was out of costume. Both was just a nightmare. He didn’t know whether to look at Marinette or Chloe or DJ--wait where was DJ? Adrien looked around for a couple seconds, but the superhero was gone. He was about to say something about it, when Chloe of all people spoke up.

“Adrien? I-I’m sorry.”

The model looked over to the girl. She had her head bent down so her eyes were hidden, her shoulders were lax and her whole countenance shone with regret. It took him a second to process what she had just said, but once he had he felt like wrapping her in a big hug.

Marinette was standing off to the side slightly, but however much Adrien wanted to go talk to her, he had to apologize to Chloe first.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward toward the girl. She didn’t flinch this time. He set a hand on her shoulder and smiled not only with his mouth but with his eyes. “No Chloe, I’m sorry. I should’ve taken your feelings into account and not ignored you like that, it’s my fault.”

“No but Adrie-”

“Thank you Chloe. But that’s all I need to hear. You’re sorry and it won't happen again, that's all that matters. Come here.” Adrien held out his arms, and before Chloe could do anything he pulled her into the most comforting hug he could manage at the moment. At first the girl didn’t move, but not a second after he had enveloped her in the hug, she returned it graciously, and it was hard to believe that this sweet girl was...Chloe. 

Adrien smiled as he held the girl, and even though she might turn back into her normal, bossy self the next day, it was nice to know she still had some goodness in her. 

After a minute or two, he let go and for once the blonde gave him a genuine, happy smile. They spoke a few more words to each other, then he let Chloe know that he needed to talk to Marinette now. She was kind of hurt by the information, but Adrien hoped he had made it clear that he still cared about her, and his friendship with Mari wouldn’t ruin his friendship with her. It seemed that Chloe now understood, so after calling up her father and getting a ride home, Adrien waved goodbye as Marinette tentatively walked up next to him. 

The model took a deep breath. He knew. She didn’t. And now he had to tell her. Oh man he was gonna make this really awkward now wasn’t he? Adrien rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, and just as he was about to turn around and spurt something out like, ‘I KNOW WHO YOU ARE I’M A CAT!’, he heard a soft voice begin speaking from behind him. 

“H-hey Adrien? I-i should probably head home n-now. A-are you, uhh I mean, d-do you have a ride home, or something?”

Adrien nearly jumped into the air at the sound of her sweet, ever familiar voice. “Yeah, yeah. I can get a ride and everything, but umm, first I wanted to talk to you about something, i-if that’s alright…”

The designer nodded her head vigorously and Adrien couldn’t help but notice how cute it was when she did that. Her pigtails were bobbing up and down and her face was doing its best to look serious and professional, but that only made her look cuter. “O-okay then. Well, I...ummm...I don’t really know any better way to put this...so, uhh...I know your secret.” 

The moment Adrien spoke the word secret, the girl in front of him froze. Her face went bright red, her cheeks looked like they were on fire. Her eyes were open wide and her hands shot out almost instantly, waving wilding in front of her to express her denial at having a secret. In all honesty, she looked pretty ridiculous, but Adrien doubted he would have handled it any differently. 

“NO nO no, I don’t have a secret, what are you talking about--that’s, that’s nonsense, you couldn’t possibly know I mean no, there’s nothing to hide I--” Before she could speak any more, Adrien stuck his hand out and placed it across the girl’s mouth. It might have been kind of rude, but Adrien doubted it would matter once she realized who he was. He only hoped she wouldn’t...wouldn’t hate him for it. 

The girl was stunned but not offended, yet. Her eyes were blinking rapidly, and Adrien could see that she was thinking of every possible excuse to throw at him to protect her secret. He slowly pulled his hand away and her mouth kept quiet. It was open slightly, as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t decide what to say. For a second, no more than a second, his eyes drifted to her lips, and he realized that they were the same lips he had longed for as Cat Noir. Mentally, he shook himself away from the thought and focused on his current situation. 

“Marinette, don’t worry. I won't tell anyone.” Quickly, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “But I do know. I know that you’re Ladybug.”

If it was possible for Marinette’s face to get any redder at that point, then it sure did. Her eyes were looking everywhere but at him, and her mouth still hung open in a mixture of fear and amazement. It took her a few seconds, but eventually the girl composed herself enough to look him in the eye. “O-okay. H-how d-did you find out?”

Adrien smiled a bit and turned his eyes away. He lifted his hand to scratch at his neck and avoided eye contact as he spoke. “I don’t really know. I kind of just saw you next to the substitute Ladybug and it just...clicked. It just made so much sense and I knew it had to be you.”

“B-but how did you see me? Y-you didn’t arrive till after Cat Noir had left and…” Mari’s voice trailed off as she spoke and her eyes looked downward as her face contorted into that of confusion and puzzlement.

“Yes, and what does that tell you?”

Mari lifted her eyes back to the model’s face. “Umm, I don’t know, should it tell me something? Cat Noir left probably because he was gonna detransform and you were worried about me and just happened to show up after he left, right?”

“Well...kind of, but not exactly. Doesn’t that seem somewhat odd to you?”

Marinette tilted her head slightly, confusion still covering her face. “Odd? How?”

“Umm, okay. Let me put it to you like this. What if, by some chance, Cat Noir was standing right in front of you. Like, right now.”

Mari stopped for a second. “Why would he…..oh…” 

Oh. OH. Wait was she--did she just--was he? Wait a sec, was he saying what she thought he was saying? No he couldn't possibly be--oh wow. The designer could barely think she was so shocked. She couldn’t believe that he could be--but how? How could Adrien? Darling, handsome, perfect Adrien be-be Cat Noir? It was ludicrous! Crazy! But yet, it made so much sense. It was all there. It really was him, there was no way it couldn’t be him… She wanted to say something then. To say something to tell him that she understood, that she knew and, and...oh gosh. He had known she was Ladybug. Only for a few minutes but still! She had to say something, and she had to say it now.

“Y-y-you’re a cat then?” Well great. That was just great, way to go Mari, smartest comment ever.

“Heh, yeah kind of. I-i know you didn’t want us revealing our identities, but once I found out, I only thought it right that you knew…”

Marinette stopped. If she had the choice, she would run home right then and just take some time to think on everything. She needed time to process all this information. Adrien was Cat Noir. And he knew that she was Ladybug. Probably the two best kept secrets in Paris had just been let loose. But she couldn’t leave. Not now. She took a deep breath. “I-i don’t know what to say…”

Adrien took a deep breath as well. “Y-you don’t need to say anything. I know it’s a lot, I really do. I’m still kind of reeling from the fact that..it’s you.”

Mari frowned slightly. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No! No it’s not a bad thing. It’s actually a really good thing. I just, I think it’s really cool that you’re Ladybug. It just seems right, and well, now that I know and all, you’re even better than before. Sorry if i’m not making any sense it’s good trust me, you’re just amazing I--”

Before he could say another word, Adrien found himself trapped in a sudden hug. He looked down with stunned eyes to see Marinette clinging to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding him tightly. He took his arms from his sides and wrapped them around the girl, completing the hug while holding her close. She was warm and small, so tiny in his arms, it made him want to protect her from anything that came her way. He squeezed her softly and swore he heard a small ‘Thank you’ escape the girl’s lips as he did so.

He was about to let go and continue their crazy conversation, when he heard another voice speaking from behind him. “Oooo, looks like the lovebirds are finally getting together.”

As soon as the girl spoke, both Adrien and Marinette jumped out of the hug and whirled to face the two newcomers. In front of them stood a boy in a red cap and blue t-shirt, with an auburn haired girl to his side wearing a smirk on her face. 

Both Adrien and Marinette wanted to scream a huge ‘NO’ at the two, but they figured it would only make things worse, so instead, they stood with mouths agape and eyes wide open.

“Yo Adrien, don’t look so freaked out dude. Alya and I just met up while we were looking for you and well, here you are. And Mari?” The girl looked up at red capped boy. “I have something for you. Well, a couple somethings…”

The auburn haired girl nudged the boy playfully. “Ohh, whatcha got for her Nino? You can tell us you know.”

Nino chuckled quietly and began rubbing his wrist. “Actually, no. I can’t Alya. Wait a sec, why are you asking? You know what I have!”

Alya cackled joyously and patted him on the shoulder. “You don’t need to be so secretive Nino! Adrien probably already knows and Mari’s gonna need to know eventually!” 

Adrien watched the two in befuddlement. Saying he was really confused was an understatement. That is, until he looked down at Nino’s wrists. Or rather, what was on his wrists. He had the rubber bands and bracelets there, just like always; but on each wrist, one of the bands had a silver earring attached to it. He gasped.

Nino chuckled a bit at his astonishment, and it wasn’t long before Adrien heard another gasp from behind him, signifying that Marinette had finally caught on to their conversation.

“Nino is that...” 

The boy nodded softly. “Yes it is. And I have you-know-who with me as well.” Marinette’s eyes suddenly went wide and scared. “But don’t worry! She’s safe, it’s okay. You probably don’t remember, but she was the one who told me and Alya everything.”

The four stood in silence for a little while as everyone took the information in. People from the city started coming out of buildings and gathering in the area. No one had paid much attention to the four beraggled teenages...yet. 

Alya was the first one to realize this problem. “Hey guys?” She piped up. “We should probably head somewhere else to talk about all this, cause we will be talking about it. A lot.”

Adrien took his chance to speak. “Yeah, but where--”

“My house.” The three turned to look at the black haired girl. “We can go to my house it’ll be the easiest. And Alya, you’re right. I don’t remember much from the past little while, so you guys will have to fill me in. And...I guess I should fill you in on, all of this too…”

After a few nods of agreement, the four wordlessly began making their way to the Dupain Cheng Bakery. While they walked they didn’t speak, and once they got there, it took a while for the four to begin explaining everything. But afterwards, everyone felt it had been the right thing to do. They were still a bit confused, still learning and still growing, but now they knew. Two secrets each kept by one person, were now kept by four. It would be weird and different, but after having time to talk, all four teenagers believed they could make it work. 

There were still some people who were confused about the ‘Ladybug’ incident, but before long it was all blown over. One person, Chloe Bourgeois, was still persistent in her efforts to discover why there had been a new Ladybug for some time. She wouldn’t let the matter go, but at the same time it kept her from hurting others so no one bugged her about being so obsessed. After some time, her obsession died out, and no one knew why. No one except the four from that day who may or may not have let her in on a little secret. Having four, sometimes five, rather than one to work everything out was both weird and helpful. It was always nice for the two heroes to know they had friends they could count on. They knew things would work out if only they worked together. Because for now, they all had each other.


End file.
